B2B Asia News sat down with Nouv Sokly, Chief Treasury Officer at Wing Bank, to discuss her role, Wing Bank's financial strategies, and the pathways for women in financial leadership in Cambodia.
B2B Asia News: Can you start off by sharing a bit on your personal background and the values and influences that brought you here today?
Nouv Sokly: “I've been working in the banking industry for around 16 years. For my bachelor's degree, I studied finance and banking, coupled with English literature – my major was in banking, so I tried to obtain a job in finance and banking. I was lucky enough to be selected among the students from my university who had their profile shared with some banks. That's how I was able to start my career in banking.”
B2B Asia News: Today, you are the Chief Treasury Officer at Wing Bank. Did you always see yourself working in Treasury?
Nouv Sokly: “Actually, there wasn't exactly a big plan to one day become the Chief Treasury Officer at a bank. It came as a coincidence, or something I gradually worked towards. To go back a bit, I worked as a customer service officer for around one year, and then I moved to the Treasury Department. That's when I felt like treasury kind of interested me. The job itself is very important, very crucial for a bank. You hold and manage the liquidity of a bank, you manage the asset liability, and at the same time, the foreign exchange exposure. A lot of things that keep evolving. So, this made me feel okay, treasury is still interesting for me.”
B2B Asia News: Can you give us some insight on how a rapidly growing commercial bank like Wing Bank is able to strike the right balance between driving profitability and protecting stability?
Nouv Sokly: "This is a great question and it really applies to the situation in the market right now, where we can see that the banking industry is a bit shaky. But I need to be careful with my words because right now, we don't have a crisis. I just want to stress that the regulations we have reflect very strong support from the central bank. Everything Is okay.
“Regarding our daily activity in the treasury department, we manage the bank's liquidity. Even when the market condition is fine, this management is still part of our daily job. So, going back to the balance between profitability and sustainability – liquidity should not be taken for granted, and idle funds also come with costs. How do we strike the right balance? We need to find the optimal balance between profits and having sufficient funds for the bank to feel assured that okay, if something happens, we are still fine, we are okay. The bank still still needs to be working fine while the team manages profitability. Not to maximise profits, but to ensure that we don't leave idle funds alone.”
B2B Asia News: Treasury, foreign exchange, and capital markets have historically been heavily male-dominated fields across the region. What has your experience been like climbing to the top of this specialised sector as a Cambodian woman?
Nouv Sokly: "Actually, I've been in banking for 16 years, but to be frank, I haven't felt that it's because I'm a woman that I faced challenges. I haven't actually felt that. But, of course, when you're progressing in your career, the job, the scope of work, will really challenge you regardless of your gender. It's very common in senior roles to face challenges, not only because you are a woman.
"In my experience, people might challenge you about your numbers, the figures that you share, the decisions that you make, or sometimes even your judgement of proposals. You need to have certain principles that you are very clear on. Your numbers, your knowledge on the topic that you are sharing has to be concrete and precise.
“We face different kinds of challenges along the way, but one that I can mostly pick out is around self doubt. The pressure that you put on yourself, that you need to be perfect, that you need to always be right. Sometimes, you need to believe in yourself. The support from family is very important, and one very important thing is opportunity and the people that trust in you. Because sometimes, you will doubt yourself, and then if the opportunity comes and your mentors or your leaders give it to you, they trust that you can do it, that is very helpful.”
B2B Asia News: For young Cambodian women who love mathematics, finance, or business, but feel intimidated by executive financial roles, what is the most important advice you can share with them?
Nouv Sokly: “When you come up to the senior level, your role requires a lot of responsibility. That bigger and harder it gets, you might start to challenge yourself, thinking, “Okay, I'm not a good mom,” feeling guilty about not being a good wife, or believing you need to choose between work or family. The organisation [you work for] should help you feel that you don't need to choose. You can have both. You can have success in your career, and at the same time still be a good mother and wife. So, I would suggest that women believe in themselves, believe that they can do it, they can have both. No need to choose.
“I can share that in my experience, I have seen the potential in my female staff and have wanted to give opportunities to them, but my staff feel that they are not ready. So the opportunity is gone. They reject the assigned task. But I want to emphasise: please believe in yourself! Always try first. There is nothing right or wrong in your decision, but you can gain a lot by taking the opportunity. Even if you fail, you will learn from the experience, and don't give up! Come back and do it much better than before. One small opportunity, one small task could lead you to another big responsibility in the future.”